This article or excerpt is included in the GLP’s daily curated selection of ideologically diverse news, opinion and analysis of biotechnology innovation.

A California judge will slash a $2 billion judgment against Bayer AG, which had been awarded to a couple who both developed cancer after decades of using Roundup to kill weeds.

The damages award announced in May marked the largest to date in the litany of lawsuits tying the top-selling herbicide to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But in a tentative ruling late [July 18], Alameda County Superior Court Judge Winifred Y. Smith said the $2 billion exceeded legal precedent and that she was considering an award closer to $250 million. If the parties can’t agree on a new amount …. the case would go to a retrial.

Alva and Alberta Pilliod, who are in their mid-70s, had been using Roundup for decades by the time Alva was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his bones in 2011. Four years later, Alberta was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma brain cancer.

…

On May 13, jurors awarded the couple $55 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. Experts assumed the award would be reduced, given U.S. Supreme Court rulings that cap the ratio of punitive to compensatory damages at 9-to-1.

It is easier than ever for advocacy groups to spread disinformation on pressing science issues, such as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. No, vaccines are not harmful. Yes, the use of biotechnology, GMOs or gene editing to develop antigens for treatments including vaccines are part of the solution. To inform the public about what’s really going on, we present the facts and challenge those who don't. We can’t do this work without your help. Please support us – a donation of as little as $10 a month helps support our vital myth-busting efforts.